An estimated crowd of 40,000 fans packed the Malecón and streets of downtown Puerto Vallarta on June 20, 2009 to see Alejandro Fernández and Friends in the 'Jalisco en Vivo' concert. (photos by Liana Turner)

Not even the torrential downpours that started just after 7:30 pm kept an estimated crowd of around 40,000 die-hard fans from packing the Malecón and streets of downtown Puerto Vallarta last Saturday night to see Alejandro Fernández and Friends in the free 'Jalisco en Vivo' concert.Despite the heat, humidity and overcast skies that threatened rain, thousands of music lovers started lining up at the barricades that sealed off the downtown area, which was closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, several hours before the concert was scheduled to begin.After the skies opened up and the barricades came down, fans and heavy rains flooded the downtown area, but nobody in the audience seemed to mind the crowds - or the wet weather.When Fernández took the stage, he gave the audience a sardonic smile and kicked off the Puerto Vallarta concert by saying, "Creo que será un concierto húmedo, caliente y muy íntimo." (I believe this is going to be a very wet, warm and intimate concert.)And he couldn't have said it better. An estimated crowd of around 40,000 die-hard fans stood in the rain, packed like sardines, for 7-8 hours to watch (or at least hear) "El Potrillo" along with a slew of his "friends," including Puerto Rican star Luis Fonsi, superstar Enrique Iglesias, electro poppers Belanova, regional Mexican icon Joan Sebastian, singer/songwriter Coti and Peru's Gian Marco put on enthusiastic and flawless performances - despite the soggy conditions.The June 20th concert in Puerto Vallarta was the first of two "Jalisco en Vivo" free mega concerts hosted by superstar Alejandro Fernandez, whose hope is to entice tourism back into Mexico following the swine flu outbreak. A second show is scheduled for Guadalajara on June 27, featuring Gloria Estefan, Paulina Rubio, Belanova and Aleks Syntek, among many others.